When It Gets Real
by mew-tsubaki
Summary: Maydayverse, oneshot. When teenaged Molly Prewett is told those three little words...she freaks out. *Parent-era, canon-compliant; done for HP Ship Weeks*


**When It Gets Real**

A HariPo oneshot

by mew-tsubaki

Note: The _Harry Potter_ characters belong to J.K. Rowling, not me. Molly/Arthur is one of, like, two canon ships I adore, yet I don't write them a whole lot… Wonder if I'll ever be on _time_ for HP Ship Weeks? :[ Read, review, and enjoy!

- ^-^3

Arthur had been dawdling for hours now. They'd finished up that dreadful History of Magic essay around one, and it was now three in the morning, and Molly really just wanted to go to bed.

But Arthur had insisted on a walk around the castle. It had taken him a good fifteen minutes to take her hand at last, but she had no idea why he'd be so nervous around her. She'd liked him since second year, when he'd stunned their classmates by confessing an interest in Muggle objects. The shy boy was appealing and sweet; he wasn't like those other boys who played up their blood purity. No, she didn't like those Malfoy and Lestrange types.

But Arthur was tiring her right now. Wasn't it bad enough, being in sixth year and preparing for N.E.W.T.s? "Arthur," she began softly.

He stopped walking suddenly, and he clenched her hand almost painfully. She'd never seen him like this before.

"Arthur. Arthur! You're hurting me," she said, trying and failing not to wince.

His face flushed Pepper Imp crimson, right to the roots of his hair, and he let her go. "Oh! Sorry, sorry, Molly."

She touched his shoulder gingerly after rubbing her sore hand. "What's wrong? You've been so quiet tonight."

Arthur frowned, but the red of his cheeks didn't lessen. "I've just… I've been trying to figure out how to tell you this all night—"

Molly tensed. Oh no. Was this the end of them? But she quite liked Arthur. She thought she'd made that clear. They were together most of their time, in and out of class. He'd been her first kiss. His had been the first boy's hand she'd held that didn't belong to either of her little brothers, Fabian or Gideon.

He looked ready to burst. And then—"Iloveyou."

He'd spat it out so fast it sounded like one word…but she knew what he'd said.

Yet somehow, that scared her more than anything.

So she yelped.

It was awful timing. What Arthur said, how loud she was in response, and with Apollyon Pringle rounding the corner of the corridor. "_Hey_! You two! No students out of bed!"

Arthur didn't wait for Molly to say anything else. He reached for her hand again, and they ran away from the caretaker.

But Pringle was more agile than he seemed. He was gaining on them.

"I love you, Mollywobbles!" Arthur yipped, and then he turned her and pushed her into one corridor, leading Pringle down another so that she might get away.

Molly caught her breath as Pringle took the bait and tore off after Arthur. Then she continued down this new path, hoping to meet Arthur again at the portrait hole to Gryffindor Tower.

She blushed. Or did she want to meet him?

She still couldn't believe he'd said that. "I love you," of all things. She liked him a lot, she really did—but there was a difference between "like" and "love."

Molly frowned as she turned back to return to the common room. She wasn't sure what she'd say to Arthur. Heck, she wasn't even sure she knew her response at all. All these years they'd had fun, and Molly liked that, but… They were only teenagers. Something like "love" should not be in their vocabulary.

The witch sighed and continued to Gryffindor Tower…or so she thought. Molly looked around her. Wait, how'd she get here? And where _was_ "here"?

She internally cursed. She had no idea where she was! Arthur was usually the one who knew these things. He was so much better at navigating than she was, and he seemed to know so many of the castle's secret passageways, if he didn't know all of them yet…

- ^-^3

By the time she made it back to Gryffindor Tower—largely by happy accident—it was four in the morning, and Molly was chewed out by the Fat Lady.

"_Well_!" the Fat Lady huffed. "In _my_ day, it was scandalous enough to be in a room with man without a chaperone. But to stay out into the wee hours? For shame, I say, for shame!"

Molly ignored her as the painting swung shut behind her, and she scurried upstairs to her bed before anyone else woke up to chastise or tease her.

It was hard going to bed for two reasons. First, Molly's mind wouldn't go blank when she thought of what Arthur had said… And second—and probably more importantly—she fretted that she hadn't seen Arthur waiting in the common room for her, or standing outside the portrait hole. She tried to console herself by thinking that he had to have made it back first after giving Pringle the slip and that, as it was so late, Arthur must've just gone right up to bed. Of course, it didn't make her any happier to think that he would've gone to bed without seeing her first…but she tried not to let that get to her.

And somehow, despite how upset she was, Molly managed to sleep for a few hours before the next school day began.

When it did, Molly woke (with tremendous effort) and waited downstairs for Arthur. He didn't appear, but she'd seen several of their classmates leave already. Again, she tried not to feel annoyed that he could've gone on without her.

Yet…he wasn't in the Great Hall either. "Now _that's_ strange," she mumbled to herself.

She got a few looks, too. From the Gryffindor table as well as from the other tables, most notably the Slytherin one. To her great displeasure, she saw Bellatrix Black smirking at her, and Rodolphus Lestrange turned his head away. But Molly could seek his shoulders shaking with quiet laughter while his younger brother, Rabastan, laughed out loud.

Molly reddened at the unwanted attention and focused on her breakfast. However, all she did was push the food around on her plate.

It wasn't until a younger Gryffindor witch, Emmeline Vance, came up to Molly did she finally understand the awkward tone of the morning. "Um, Miss Prewett, yes?" Molly nodded. "You're always with Arthur Weasley… Everyone knows you two are inseparable," she said with a bright smile that made Molly blush again. But Emmeline's smile faltered. "I don't think you know, but I heard some of the boys talking about it—Arthur was out last night, it seems, and he came back late but hasn't been able to get out of bed. Pringle caught him. He was punished."

"What…? I honestly thought—" Molly stopped, not outing herself. "So he's still in the dorm?"

Emmeline nodded. "Thought you ought to know." Then she returned to her seat.

Molly didn't get further looks after that, though she thought she saw Rabastan glare Emmeline's way. But that was of no concern to her.

They had a free period for first block this morning, so Molly went to find Arthur with a clear conscience. It was strange, being back during the school day. Normally she never returned to Gryffindor Tower until bedtime. She hadn't realized how quiet it could be.

The redheaded witch went to march upstairs, as Arthur still hadn't made it down to the common room. But the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories turned into a slide. She had no way of getting up there.

Her temper flared to life. She'd heard of the stairs doing the same thing on the girls' side, but she'd never _seen_ it happen!

She tried again. And again. And again and again and again—"OH, FOR THE LOVE OF MERLIN! LET ME UPSTAIRS TO SEE HIM, YOU STUPID CASTLE!"

Oddly enough, the stairs remained that time.

Molly still took them two steps at a time, just in case the castle changed its mind mid-climb. She was so intent on making it before she ended up with a slide beneath her feet that she almost didn't stop outside the door to the sixth-year boys' room.

But she did. She knocked, and from inside came a feeble, muffled, "Come in."

She stuck her head in, not knowing what to expect. All in all, the boys' room looked fairly identical to the girls' counterpart, though she noted that the boys kept their room tidier than the girls did… "Arthur? It's Molly."

That did it. She saw the curtains shake on the four-poster fourth in the room, and Arthur stuck his head out. "_Molly_?"

She rushed to him. "My word, Arthur! What were you thinking, skipping breakfast?" She passed him a pair of bread slices she'd grabbed from the Great Hall. "I…heard Pringle caught you."

Arthur nodded and chewed the bread. "He did…"

Molly frowned at him. "Arthur, one of the things I love about you is that you have proper manners. Please sit up and look me in the eye when we're talking."

He winced. "Um, that's the thing, Molly…Mollywobbles…" He tried sitting up, but tears came to his eyes, so he collapsed on his bed. "I—I can't. I was…caned after Pringle caught me."

Her frown deepened, and she hugged him to her, careful to be extra gentle. "Oh, Art… I'm so sorry."

"No, no, the fault's all mine. I insisted on having a moment with you. It was a stupid idea to walk around the castle at night."

"No, I mean…" Her chest was tight. "I'm sorry I was so surprised by last night. But to think that you were caned…! That's heinous!"

Arthur smiled. "It was worth it, though. I got to say what I wanted and you weren't caught."

Her heart fluttered at his sincerity. For a second, she could see that same heartfelt smile of his—in his twenties, in his forties, in his sixties. "Oh," she whispered, more to herself than to him.

"What is it, Molly?" he asked. "I don't expect an answer, by the way," he added hastily, thinking she was dwelling on last night.

Without warning, Molly stood, almost taking Arthur off his bed. "No, it's not that."

"Then what is it?"

Molly embraced her temper. "You're perfect, Arthur. Perfect for me. But, more importantly, I cannot sit down and pretend as though it was right of them to hurt someone I—I love!"

Arthur gaped at her. "Mollywobbles?"

She stomped downstairs, Arthur hobbling after her. She made her way all the way to McGonagall's office. It was about time Molly was honest—about everything.

"Molly! What are you doing?!"

Molly didn't even knock on the door to the office of their Head of House. She threw the door open and stomped right up to McGonagall's desk. McGonagall, for her part, sat there quietly, but she did pause in her work to look at Molly over the rims of her glasses.

"Molly!" Arthur pleaded. He ducked his eyes at McGonagall. "Professor," he said respectfully.

"May I help you two?" the Transfiguration instructor said evenly.

"No!" Arthur said at the same time Molly said "Yes!"

Molly glared at him, but she focused on McGonagall. "I want the record corrected. I was out with Arthur last night, it was my fault Pringle caught him, and I should be punished, too."

"What?" Arthur said…at the same time McGonagall asked, "Is that so?" McGonagall silenced him with a look.

Molly suddenly felt the weight of her words. "Well…maybe not punished in the same way…that's actually what I came here about." She felt renewed strength. "It's the sixties, professor. Hogwarts is well behind the times. Arthur was _caned_ last night. Whatever happened to the simple concept of detention? This corporal punishment is too much!"

Perhaps she imagined it, but Molly thought she saw one corner of McGonagall's mouth move up by a fraction. "You say Mr. Weasley here was out of bed, was caught, and was subsequently caned?"

Molly nodded, but McGonagall was waiting for Arthur's answer. He nodded, too. "But I was with him!" Molly added.

Arthur, shockingly, gave her a stern look. "_No_, she wasn't. It was only me."

McGonagall removed her glasses and stood. "I can't say I know myself, as I wasn't there…but Mr. Pringle also has not informed me that he caned one of my students."

"He did it loudly enough in the dungeons," Molly added without thinking. "The Slytherins heard it. I saw the Lestranges and Bellatrix Black laughing about it."

Arthur looked even more embarrassed then before, and Molly mouthed "I'm sorry."

McGonagall shook her head at them. "I'll have a word with Mr. Pringle. Professor Dumbledore and I have been talking about some much-needed changes at Hogwarts, and maybe it's time some of them be implemented… But it's a shame to hear that even _one_ of my students was wandering the castle at night," she said pointedly with a look at Molly. "Do not let it happen again, Mr. Weasley."

"No, ma'am," he said to the floor.

"Now leave, both of you. I have much work to do, and the morning has only just begun. Good day, Mr. Weasley, Miss Prewett."

Humbled by their professor's stature, Arthur took Molly's hand once more, and he led her out of another bad situation.

- ^-^3

Back in the common room, Arthur tried to sit down. "Nope, can't do it yet," he said. His blue eyes were watering, but he was best when standing.

"You really should go to the Hospital Wing, luv," Molly said softly as she sat on the couch. She looked up at him as he leaned against the armrest.

"No, no. I'll be fine. I'll wear these marks like—like a badge of honour." He grinned. "I'll be as proud of having them as I am for knowing the castle's nooks and crannies."

"But you didn't know them well enough to outrun Pringle."

He shrugged it off. "No, I just wasn't expecting _him_ to know them so well, too. Though I guess that was a stupid supposition, wasn't it? He's the caretaker, after all. He's _supposed_ to know the school inside and out."

"Well, even though we were technically wrong for breaking the rules, he still shouldn't have hurt you like that." She grimaced. "That's a horrid way to punish students. It—it's so medieval. We won't punish our children that way."

Arthur nodded with a laugh. "Yeah, 'medieval' is the right word…_what_?"

"I said, 'We won't punish our children that way.'"

"No, I heard that. But—" He was at a loss for words.

Molly stood and, red-faced, took Arthur's hands in hers. "I'll…I'll confess. I haven't thought long and hard about the severity of your words. And we're only sixteen. But…if there's one thing I know about you, it's that I can trust your sincerity. Sometimes…that scares me. But—but I can see us together in the future. And I don't mean for just a stage in our lives. I mean that I can see us married, with children, growing old, and keeping those kids out of trouble."

He was utterly flabbergasted. "I—I—I—"

"Arthur, will you marry me—someday?"

He looked ready to choke. But then he took a breath. "Um, Mollywobbles…"

"Yes?"

Arthur looked expectant. "You're skipping one important part."

She gave him a look. "Look, you… I just told you how hard it was for me to realize how real this is between you and me, and you won't let me get away without saying it?"

He pouted. "But I said it!"

Molly kissed his pout. "I know. And I'm sorry for being stubborn, Arthur. I love you. Very much."

"Good. And I will marry you. Someday."

"Right after graduation?"

"…probably."

Molly smiled. She expected nothing less of the shy, appealing, sweet boy with a Muggle obsession…who would be done dawdling for the rest of his life by the time they left school.

- ^-^3

**:3 I don't think I mangled them too badly…? Urgh, I've barely written them, though I love them. They're adorable. I tried to tie in a few things here—that night they were out, Molly's scary side that appears when her family's hurt, the fact that they married young (nearly right out of school), etc. I like to think that the twins got their love of exploring from somewhere, and it makes sense that they'd get that from Arthur; I just thought it amusing to think that he once knew the castle so well, before the Marauders came along and made their map… ;) I think it also interesting to ponder which one of them took their relationship more seriously at first; considering how kind Arthur is, I can see him to be like Neville, and the one to take every relationship more seriously than the other person (though of course Arthur only ever had Molly). And calling her "Mollywobbles" from early on… And a bit of '60s!Molly regarding her speaking out against that kind of punishment—it's easy to forget that that was when she and Arthur were at school (I decided to leave talk of Voldy out of this fic, though—he comes up too much sometimes, I think ;P). Lastly…cameos. And a hint of Rabastan/Emmeline, if you've read some of my early HariPo fics (Embastan's an M see my profile for more on that and the term "Maydayverse," thanks). And yeah. Done with this A/N, 'cuz it's long, I wasn't expecting this fic to be long, and I made it on time for the ship's week! FINALLY! 8D *though am I allowed to mention that I've decided my head-canon for young!Arthur is a young Martin Freeman? 'cuz that'd be adorable* -w-**

**Thank you very much for reading, and please leave a review! And check out my stories for my other HP Ship Weeks entries—I've written them all so far.**

**-mew-tsubaki :}**


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